Carnival Magic - eastern Caribbean

Any suggestions for an excursion on the Carnival Magic - Eastern Caribbean. We are going to San Juan, DR, and Grand Turk. My kids range from 9-14- we are not the most adventurous...no ATV riding or things like that. One of my kids is very hesitant so something on the calmer side. Thank you!

My kids are nine and 13 and in Amber Cove they did the zip lining and loved it. It was at the port. They also have a free area and two waterslides.

Grand Turk also has a nice pool area and beach to hang out with the kids

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The forts in San Juan are very interesting (and not expensive). Our family will probably spend the entire time available there on our cruise in March. They are also fairly close to the port. Have also toured the rain forest but not sure what shape it is in after the hurricanes. We have also spent time shopping in Old San Juan and if they are open the shops could probably use the business.

Grand Turk can be an easy beach day. The water is gorgeous.

DR - have only been there once and did the zip-line, horse back & lunch tour thru the ship. Next time our family has one of the over the water cabanas rented so we will stick close to port. I've read the pool area is nice but did not get a chance to check it out last time.

Happy planning!

Any suggestions for an excursion on the Carnival Magic - Eastern Caribbean. We are going to San Juan, DR, and Grand Turk. My kids range from 9-14- we are not the most adventurous...no ATV riding or things like that. One of my kids is very hesitant so something on the calmer side. Thank you!

Check out the port of call forums too: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=587

I think your entire family will enjoy touring the forts at San Juan. We were able to walk to one of them and it was very cool. Another time, we walked off of the ship and grabbed an inexpensive city tour that ended at the fort. There are also excursions and tours to the forts, but they are something you can easily do on your own

We had a 12 & 13 year old when we did PR 2 years ago. We did one of the ship excursions, but it was pretty inexpensive. It was a walking tour through the old town and then over to the one fort. Once we were done, we actually left the group, as they were heading back to the ship, and we grabbed some late lunch in Old San Juan. Even the boys enjoyed the forts tour. We went all around before getting to the forts, stopping at the Capitol even.

In Grand Turk we've just hung at the beach or this past time, got a cabana at Margaritaville, which was totally worth it for us (there were the same 2 families again, so same two boys). It was nice to have a "base camp" for the moms and then the boys could come and go.

Here's the other fort in PR, from the one we went to...

Castillo San Felipe del Morro by Cindy, on Flickr

My son loves lizards, so he loved being able to hold these. On our excursion in PR, she stopped by these guys, they had bottled water for everyone and we got to hold these if we wanted.

In his glory! by Cindy, on Flickr

Oh, and he had been dying to have a big fruity drink, so he got that in PR too!

Christian and his fruity drink by Cindy, on Flickr

Standing in the waters by the cruise ship in Grand Turk, it's that easy to get to and snorkel!

Hanging on the beach by Cindy, on Flickr

The forts in old San Juan are operated by the National Park Service. They are within walking distance. No need to pay for an excursion, https://www.nps.gov/saju/index.htm.

As some have said make Grand Turk a beach day.

Right next to the cruise ship terminal is a beautiful beach and you can just enjoy the day there. There is also shopping and restaurants.

Lots of fun.

Keith

The forts in old San Juan are operated by the National Park Service. They are within walking distance. No need to pay for an excursion, https://www.nps.gov/saju/index.htm.

True, but when we did the excursion, it wasn't that expensive honestly. Plus, we did a tour of several blocks of Old San Juan, over the Capitol building, etc... So it was actually worth it for us. If we had just wanted to see the forts, I agree, we would have just walked over. I want to say we paid like $35/each for the tour though. It was nice to have a guide who knew all this history, told us all about these various buildings and the stories behind them. We also happened to be there on Veteran's Day, which is holiday there as well. So the Capitol was open, but not "in business." In fact, in front of the Capitol is an area where all the major protests happen. So there was a group there protesting charter schools (a big issue here in Chicago). They also have their Constitution on display right in the middle of the building.

Walk to the forts, the kids will like it and it will teach some local history...very interesting and good exercise! No need to pay for excursion, the forts are cheap to get into (maybe $5 dollars for both per person?)...then walk into the historic district (right near the second fort), lots of street performers and things going on...plenty of great restaurants with authentic food if you want a bite, very reasonable...San Juan is one of our favorite ports, lots to do and within walking distance to the ship...have fun!

Thank you everyone - great tips! Some of the excursions look outrageously expensive, especially when there are 6 of us. I appreciate your ideas...thank you!

Thank you everyone - great tips! Some of the excursions look outrageously expensive, especially when there are 6 of us. I appreciate your ideas...thank you!

That is true! We try not to spend a lot of the excursions in the Caribbean. In Alaska, it's hard not to! But there's only 3 of us. So the $30-40/person wasn't that big of a deal. If all you want is the forts, then yes, just walk on over. We only went to the one on our tour. The other one was a little further away and we were tired & hot! I couldn't believe how hot it was and we were there in November. In fact, there was a much older gentlemen in our group who just couldn't do it, so the tour guide's assistant got him transportation back to the ship. But we did enjoy all the other buildings we went to and learned about, so for the lower price, it was worth it to us.